Today I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on the voices that have made Rock Town Hall interesting and fun over the past year.

As you know, any monkey with a keyboard and an Internet connection can throw up a blog and spout off on whatever subject he or she would like you to believe matters. Fair enough. We do this every day. However, it’s not so much how right we are that matters as it is whether we’ve built a foundation on which to bullshit. Who among Townspeople who’ve launched a Main Stage has not felt the disappointment of a seemingly surefire conversation starter that went nowhere?

Other times a self-described “hit and run” post on a busy day leads to fruitful, unexpectedly passionate banter of the sort most of us don’t get out of coworkers and other everyday squares, maaaannnnn.

In fact, it’s the beyond-our-wildest-dreams comments that make this place worth my time and effort. Continue reading »

In the coming days we will take some time to reflect on the past year in Rock Town Hall. Expect nothing too self-congratulatory, but we’ll hit on a couple of highs, some surprises, and some fun flops. It shouldn’t surprise you if I try, once more, to get the last word in on a long-gone topic or revive a dead horse just long enough to give it its final beating. Or so I’d like to think. Chime in with your own unresolved issues. Chime in with your thoughts on where we’ve been and where we’re headed. Aside from the opportunity to pat us all on the back for a fun and insightful 2007, I’m hoping this also gives newer visitors to the Halls of Rock a chance to catch up on some things they may have missed.

If you’re not familiar with our history, our introductory post from January 12, 2007 is as good a place as any to get up to speed. As we moved from the “basement” of our original, private list to the harsh light of an open blog, a few new “handles” were assumed, a few treasured, regular participants dropped out, and a few feathers were ruffled. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Within a short time, however, most of the wrinkles smoothed out as rock nerds let their freak flags fly with thoughtful reports from rock road trips, careful examinations of rock fashion trends, and cutting-edge work in extending our rock vocabulary (eg, The Power and Glory of Rock, Psychic Oblivion, Rock Crimes, and clarity about the already-established term Rockism). Continue reading »

sammymaudlin Shares the Gift of Music

Many if not most of you probably know of or own this track. I present it here because this is a great underrated band that I feel every rock music lover should have an opportunity to explore. It is special to me as it is one of the first bands that I discovered on my own. As opposed to hearing it on the radio, reading about them or having a friend turn me on. I saw them open for The Meat Puppets when all they had was an EP and it was when The Meat Puppets just started sucking. These guys were one of the best live shows I have ever seen. I probably saw them a dozen times over the years and as they never built a large following it was always in some dive bar which was just so perfect for them. There’s no way I could pick a favorite song so I just grabbed one off an album that has a connection to a Friend of the Hall.